MAXIS HSPDA Debut

I have been going through many woes in the broadband access experience.

Recently, through a good friend in Maxis.. I was invited to be part of the Maxis wireless broadband access subscriber.

The service comes with a HSPDA modem, its the size of a common wi-fi router in the market, a SIM card and a phone that you can attach to the modem to make calls with.

After trying the service, it is fairly useful when you are on the move and not bothered lugging around a bulky modem around with you. The service allows you to enjoy high speed internet in the area where HSPDA coverage is available and latch onto the GPRS network in other areas where HSPDA is not present, indeed it is a complete "umbrella" coverage for those on the move.

The snapshot of the set-up for the service is as follow :



Benefits :

a) Mobility (well, at least you can move around with the modem, but if you are expecting the freedom of movement, it is not that convenient to lug around the modem and set it up with the cat-5 cable to your notebook... you'd probably get the funny look from people doing this at cafes or restaurants)
b) Good coverage, HSPDA and GPRS. (but still, if you are out of the metropolitan areas, things could get a bit complicated)
c) Easy installation
d) Data and voice package (if you lug around a normal pstn phone with you at all times,yup.. you get both services)
e) No Fixed line charge for the phone rental like Telekom Malaysia
f) Competitive Packages
g) The modem can be powered through an electrical cord or its internal battery (with a three hour lifetime - depending on your usage)

Disadvantages :

a) Not true mobility ( I think, in places where I could get free wi-fi, I will tend to use that and high this bulky looking modem and its wires... its so "uncool")
b) The SIM that comes with the service is locked to the device, so if you have PCMCIA cards that comes with HSPDA technology which makes life simpler for you... you still cannot use that
c) There are no fixed line rental, but Maxis do charge for the equipment rental monthly (this is similar to the Telephone rental concept introduced by Telekom)
d) HSPDA coverage is still very limited - at the moment, mainly its in the Klang Valley area
e) Troublesome set-up, a modem and cat-5 cable
f) The highest bandwidth allocated for the service is only 700++ kbps
g) It does have a "fair usage" policy - which means NO p2p
h) the modem is bulky
i) did I say THE MODEM IS BULKY?

I will poke around the modem further to test it with a wi-fi router and other peripeheral, I will provide an update on this in my coming blogs.

My thoughts on this service,

It seems like Maxis is planning to engage in a "fixed access" service without going through the laid PSTN wiring by Telekom Malaysia (which makes sense, they are being difficult on infra-sharing). This service offers people with an alternative option to the abhorred streamyx service that monopolizes the broadband market.

However, HSPDA is a mobile technology which should be offered as an open service to other devices that are available in the market.. not locked to the clumsy looking modem. Options should be made available to their existing Maxis 3G Connect service that Maxis is charging differently at the moment. Well, lets just hope that the coverage expands more and options are open to unlock the SIM in the future.